Belichick Reportedly Never Signed a Contract with UNC
Grant Halverson. Getty Images.The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is a 235 year old institution with an enrollment of 32,000 students, a budget of $4 billion dollars, and an endowment of $5 billion. Its football team is in its 137th season, belongs to one of the most prestigious conferences in all the land, and plays in a stadium that holds 50,000 people.
It would be common sense to assume that anyone who was put in charge of such an operation would have a detailed, meticulously crafted, legally-binding agreement in place, carefully ironed out by lawyers on both sides, to ensure the arrangement is good for all involved.
But according to reports, Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels don't have one:
Source - Presently, there is not a fully executed and signed contract between Belichick and UNC, sources told CBS Sports -- and the school confirmed -- this week. Industry sources say that could create to a legal gray area about how much, if any, of a buyout would exist if Belichick left for the pros.
Belichick signed a term sheet proposal with UNC on Dec. 11. That laid out the basic and somewhat typical terms for a high-level college football coach. A gap of multiple months between the signing of a term sheet and a final contract being executed is common in the college ranks, industry sources said.
A day later, at his introductory press conference, Belichick was asked about fears people may have of him leaving UNC for the NFL.
"I didn't come here to leave," Belichick said to applause from the North Carolina faithful in attendance.
The term sheet Belichick signed is known officially as a Proposal of Contract Terms and Conditions. It begins with a two-sentence paragraph that, as one NFL source with a legal background put, is "consequential" to the question of what will or won't be legally enforceable.
"The University proposes to enter into an Employment Agreement with Bill Belichick to serve as the Head Football Coach. It is understood and agreed that this proposal of terms and conditions shall not constitute a binding agreement, and the parties intend to negotiate expeditiously and in good faith to finalize these terms and conditions into a long-form agreement."
Belichick and Nate Knuffman, UNC's vice chancellor for finance and operations, signed the term sheet; however, that four-page document declares it does not constitute a binding agreement. A UNC spokesperson confirmed Wednesday the term sheet is the only signed document between Belichick and the school.
Fricking Belichick. Don't give me this drivel about how this is common in FBS football because I'm not buying it. I defy anyone to name one example of a head coach who went deep into recruitment season, traveling the country looking for top prospects to sign commitment papers when he himself hasn't. Only Chapel Bill has the juice to pull this off.
He's operating a multi-million program on little more than a handshake agreement. He's operating on the old world principle that a man's word is his bond. You make more of a commitment when you scroll through Apple's Terms of Service without reading it and press "Accept." That Proposal of Contract Terms and Conditions is less complicated than the rental form the tourists riding e-bikes past his compound on Nantucket sign. There's more lawyerspeak in the contract Charlie signed at Willy Wonka's:
As far as the rest of the football world is concerned, this is monumental. It suggests that the best coach who's ever prowled a sidelines is still a free agent. This as several coaching vacancies have yet to be filled. And as the events in Dallas over the past week have proven, we are not necessarily out of Coach Firing Season. And the enormous shadow of the GOAT is casting a pall over the entire NFL landscape.
Now to be fair, Belichick's long time friend and advisor and current UNC General Manager Michael Lombardi insists this is a nothingburger:
But an X-post is even less legally binding than that term sheet he signed. And is therefore not worth the paper it isn't printed on. Belichick may have zero intention of taking job in the pros. It's possible Don Shula's record or his own redemption don't factor at all into his job plans. Still. Even if that's all that's true, the lack of a contract means he can change his mind at a moment's notice Without consequences. And without having to answer to anyone. So after a year removed from the profession that he perfected, he still holds all the cards.
If I was an NFL coach on the hot seat, I'd be terrified by this news. Stay tuned. And buy a shirt:
